Mahela Jayawardene, Mumbai Indians head coach, hit back at the narrative around his team’s recent Indian Premier League (IPL) struggles, insisting that a five-year title drought does little to take away from what remains one of the competition’s most successful franchises.

The Mumbai Indians are among the most decorated sides in IPL history, having won five titles. Alongside the Chennai Super Kings, they hold the joint record for the most championships. However, since their last triumph in 2020, Mumbai have struggled to replicate that success, failing to win the tournament over the past five seasons. They have reached the playoffs only twice in this period and finished at the bottom of the points table twice, in 2022 and 2024.

Jayawardene, however, pointed to the bigger picture, noting that the IPL has become more competitive with 10 teams and that several franchises are still waiting for their first title.

“10 teams makes it even harder competition. But I think in the last 5 years, we were in the playoffs 2 or 3 times, if I am not mistaken. So that means we had our opportunities in just that last bit. I don't know how to answer this properly. In a competition like this, you have to take one game at a time and go through the process. As a team, we know that we have done well consistently over a period of time,” Jayawardene told reporters at the pre-match press conference on Friday ahead of the fixture against the Delhi Capitals.

“We just need to continue to trust that process and keep playing good cricket. And we will get there. And how we have been successful is by doing the same thing. So I don't see why we need to do something different. But as long as we keep pushing ourselves to the limit in every game and have the same attitude on and off the field to be a better team, a better franchise. I think the results will take care of themselves. Rather than putting ourselves under pressure at the beginning of the season. Saying we haven't won it for 4 years. But some teams haven't won it forever either. So we are not rubbing it in. But with all due respect, we just thought that we would trust our process. And work on ourselves on how we need to go about it,” he added.

Mumbai had undergone a leadership transition ahead of the 2024 season, with the captaincy passing from Rohit Sharma to Hardik Pandya. The move drew attention and the season did not go as planned. However, heading into the 2026 edition, Mumbai have regrouped, with Hardik leading a side widely seen as one of the favourites.

The presence of Rohit, Hardik, Suryakumar Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Tilak Varma gives Mumbai both experience and depth.

They have also made a strong start to the season. For the first time in 13 years, Mumbai Indians won their opening match, defeating the Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets at the Wankhede Stadium on March 29. Rohit Sharma and Ryan Rickelton scored half-centuries as Mumbai chased down a target of 221 with five balls to spare.

- Ends